John A. Vucetich

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Associate Professor, School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science

PhD, Forest Science, Michigan Technological University

BS, Biology, Michigan Technological University

"I am a population biologist. I spend most of my time studying the wolves and moose of Isle Royale. I am also interested in the philosophy and ethics of ecological and conservation science."

Ad vitam paramus

The purpose of the Isle Royale wolf-moose project has been to observe and understand the dynamic fluctuations of Isle Royale’s wolves and moose, in the hope that such knowledge will inspire a new, flourishing relationship with nature. I seek to understand, but thinking that I understand destroys understanding. My approach to this paradox is to wake up every morning and hope to be shown how something - the more basic the better - is not what I think it is. To be shown wrong, repeatedly, is what I hope for as a scientist. This may be the only route to learning and understanding.

Environmental ethicists and environmental scientists have a common goal, which is to better understand how we ought to relate to nature. Nevertheless, these two groups employ wildly different methods and premises, and sadly these scholars rarely interact. This the basis for my interest in environmental ethics.